Repertoires of Domination: Decentralization as Process in Botswana and Senegal

Amy R. Poteete; Jesse C. Ribot

doi:10.1016/j.worlddev.2010.09.013

Repertoires of Domination: Decentralization as Process in Botswana and Senegal

Amy R. Poteete, Jesse C. Ribot

Research output: Contribution to journal › Article › peer-review

Abstract

Decentralization promises to empower local actors, but threatens others with a loss of power. We describe " repertoires of domination" as the set of acts actors perform to defend-or entrench and expand-their positions. We illustrate, through case studies of decentralization in natural resource sectors in Botswana and Senegal, how repertoires of domination prevent local-level democratization. The concept of repertoire brings attention to the availability of multiple, substitutable acts of domination that draw upon varied sources of power. Neither decentralization nor democratization can be achieved once and for all. These processes are both advanced and halted through acts of contestation.

Original language	English (US)
Pages (from-to)	439-449
Number of pages	11
Journal	World Development
Volume	39
Issue number	3
DOIs	https://doi.org/10.1016/j.worlddev.2010.09.013
State	Published - Mar 2011
Externally published	Yes

Keywords

Africa
Botswana
Decentralization
Democratization
Domination
Natural resource management
Senegal

ASJC Scopus subject areas

Geography, Planning and Development
Development
Sociology and Political Science
Economics and Econometrics

Online availability

10.1016/j.worlddev.2010.09.013

Library availability

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abstract = "Decentralization promises to empower local actors, but threatens others with a loss of power. We describe {"} repertoires of domination{"} as the set of acts actors perform to defend-or entrench and expand-their positions. We illustrate, through case studies of decentralization in natural resource sectors in Botswana and Senegal, how repertoires of domination prevent local-level democratization. The concept of repertoire brings attention to the availability of multiple, substitutable acts of domination that draw upon varied sources of power. Neither decentralization nor democratization can be achieved once and for all. These processes are both advanced and halted through acts of contestation.",

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note = "Funding Information: We have benefitted from thoughtful comments from Catherine Boone, John Harbeson, Sandra Joireman, Staffan Lindberg, Aurelien Mauxion, Innocent Ndahiriwe, Andrea Nightingale, Hemant Ojha, Leander Schneider, Thomas Sikor, and Peter von Doepp, as well as enriching exchanges during the Workshop on the Workshop IV at Indiana University in June 2009. Thanks for the Government of Botswana{\textquoteright}s permission to conduct research in the Botswana; financial support from the Fulbright Foundation, the Social Science Research Council, and the University of New Orleans; institutional support from the University of Botswana, and help from respondents and friends in Botswana. Sincere thanks to the Dutch Royal Embassy in Dakar, in particular Franke Toornstra, for supporting the research behind the Senegal case study.",

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Repertoires of Domination: Decentralization as Process in Botswana and Senegal

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Keywords

ASJC Scopus subject areas

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